Japan's bid to reach a sixth straight World Cup suffered a damaging early blow with a 2-1 defeat to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday night.
Japan, playing its first game of the final round of Asian qualifiers for Russia 2018, took an 11th-minute lead through Keisuke Honda at Saitama Stadium, only to be pegged back nine minutes later by a direct free kick from Ahmed Khalil.
Things went from bad to worse when debutant Ryota Oshima conceded a penalty early in the second half that Khalil converted with a cheeky chip over goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa, and Japan failed to find a response as the UAE held on to claim the three points.